And why not? So far the Fed’s interest rate hike program is playing out in accordance with his predictions. Here are two tweets from earlier in the week, following the latest hike: Of course the usual Wall St. suspects are squealing that Powell is ignoring their data:
I would say that Wall Street is not a solution to anything, whether Davos, EU/WEF or otherwise. Main Street will never recover/rebuild until it's acknowledged that the trillions in US retirement/savings accounts are only really worth a fraction (in the real economy) of whatever the bank statements happen to say. But no one wants to admit that their savings won't deliver a fraction of what they've come to expect, so the system limps on. And the reason the dollar savings can't and won't deliver is because the dollar is overvalued by 5 decades of bigger and bigger trade and fiscal deficits, the consequence of being the primary reserve currency for global trade since WWII.
You've blown me away today, Mark. And I thank you.
First I read the Luongo piece you linked to, and for me it was his most powerful yet. I came back to this page intending to comment on just how wonderful I thought it was.
Then I read your comments on that piece, which added more value still.
But you were only getting started.
This Pew-Anon comment is a tour de force, laying out most of my own case against the 2024 Trump candidacy, but with a skill and clarity I probably couldn't manage on my own, even with plentiful effort. (I especially appreciated the deft explication of the hard reality that, assuming one insists not just on trying to make this country great again but actually succeeding, a serially demonstrated and deep-seated lack of the most crucial kinds of competence is a deal killer no matter how proper the intentions.) I'd even go so far as to say that, while the elegant prose of the great Michael Anton is in a class by itself, this comment otherwise reads to me as a poor man's version of something Anton himself might produce were he to pen a 2024 version of the Flight '93 Election article.
Pew-Anon's words speak for themselves, so I'll just say that I'm going to save them all and use them as a core part of my argument whenever I need to explain my thoughts on the whole Trump-DeSantis thing to anyone I care to engage with on the matter.
Thanks again for all the work you do to bring us these gems!
Pew-Anon nailed it. He perfectly captured my serious doubts about Trump's ability to learn and course correct. It is pitch-perfect in its tone of appreciation for what Trump attempted to do, while also being brutally honest about the evidence that Trump can no longer be trusted as the right vehicle on which to place our thin, remaining hopes for saving the country. The critical insight in Pew's comment is just this: everyone--rich and powerful and poor and powerless--on this side of The Atlantic (the ocean as well as the globalist periodical) are now on the menu. Old Europe / Davos wants to subjugate us all. Our choice is to either join forces with our erstwhile nemeses (the big banks), or to fight them all with virtually no powerful weapons.
I need to ponder this all in the context of DeSantis's weakness as a putative GOP candidate based on post-November polling. It would not be wise to ignore Trump's unique popularity among voters who have remained suspicious of more traditional Republicans. Even if Trump could be persuaded to bow out, would his endorsement of DeSantis work? It is necessary, but would it be sufficient?
The only reason Dimon is pushing against Trump is that he and all of Wall Street is sitting atop a multi trillion bubble they are counting on DeSantis to bail them out like Bush did. Also what everyone forgets to mention who got Powell in the position he is in Trump. If Trump is so dumb why are they so terrified of him
Shadowstats has an interesting take on the economy. Basically the oil release from the strategic reserves kept down the price off gas, reduced imports, and inflated the gdp.
Plus the employment numbers were overstated by a million.
So the numbers that the fed is using are manipulated.
Big Business has been captured by the elites, and are focused on staying in power and their own short term gain. The elites are going to universities that brain wash them into extreme work behavior. Big business is anti small business, and colluded with government to gain advantages.
I’m not understanding the difference between Wall Street and commercial bankers. Now says there seems to be a lot of overlap. Goldman Sachs is now a bank for example, and I would classify them as Wall Street. J.P. Morgan is a commercial banker, but has a large investment banking area.
Well, one my predictions that I plan to make on New Year's Eve prediction blog posts is this- Biden fires Powell sometime in 2023 and appoints either Brainerd or Yellen as Fed chairman.
I am pretty convinced that Luongo is right. But, however much we might be encouraged to have Powell, et al., fighting the globalists (the enemy of my enemy…), insofar as Powell is able to follow through on his “hawkish” plan to raise interest rates and hold them there, this is going to cause a helluva lot of pain for us peasants. We’re talking a Great Depression level tanking of the economy.
Yes, that is correct. But this is the unwinding of the greatest bubble in history. Be prepared, get your debt down, your cash flow up, your freezers stocked and your personal relationships strong.
If the worst case happens, perhaps our adult children may end up living in our "guest bedrooms" again. Upside: getting to spend more time with our grandchildren--and teaching them firearm proficiency and safety.
I just rewatched a fantastic discussion with Richard Werner from about a year ago about money creation, QE, and CBDCs. It is over an hour long, but well-worth a full listen for offering what I think is a clear, though somewhat technical, explanation of precisely why Powell and the banking interests are at war with Davos and the globalists. Though Werner’s explanation of how money is created is important context for understanding the threat that CBDCs pose to the banks, you can skip ahead to about the 40 min mark to hear about the latter.
P.s., some of you may remember another convo from around the same time between Werner and Danielle DiMartino-Booth. I think the one I link to above is even more revealing.
Groaning board worth of food for thought. It’s all so plausible. I just hope that if this reasoning is correct (and even if it is not), we (Main Street) fight as fiercely against the Wall Street machinations as Wall Street fights against Davis to win a prosperous and good future for ourselves.
Interesting post. I'm not a smart man but try to keep up with the gyrations. Maybe Powell is heading for a spot that put my father's first mortgage interest rate at 19% (1972 I think). We certainly are in for a tough ride if that's we're where headed. I would try to tighten my seatbelt a little more but I have no circulation now.
I read that comment on CTH when it appeared. It went like wildfire through my private chat server. No one owned up to writing it, FYI. So, this is a comment from someone outside of my community who has been convinced of what I've been saying.
It's hitting its stride in the zeitgeist.
Thanks for the spotlight as always. I appreciate it. It still feels weird having someone reference this guy "Luongo" directly... like it's not even me. I'm having a Phil Dick like twinge of dissociation while even writing this.
All the best and Merry Christmas to you and your community!
I would like to understand how the current rush on the part of the GOP to accommodate Democrat legislative and budget priorities before the new congress is seated aligns with your theory of shifting manila folders.
I intend no snark; I listen to every one of your interviews now and believe your uber theory is the best overall description of the current field of play; it's the details that I'm less sure of.
I understand that; but Luongo has been saying recently that various Senators and Congressmen are "getting new manila folders" - ie, they're being told 'you work for me now' and are receiving new instructions.
I suppose the most likely answer is the GOP hasn't yet decided who's parade to join.
Agreed that I have been saying that about the 'manilla folders'... so isn't it interesting that there is this rush to try and push through whatever they can as quickly as they can before the situation becomes untenable?
I'm not a prophet or anything... just trying to read the tea leaves like everyone else. I hope the manila folder stacks are big enough to change the course of things, but they may not be. The proof of that is in the outcomes.
I think Luongo, much as he irritates me, has a point here. The only thing that will stop Davos is an equally powerful group that feels its very existence is threatened by the globalists and greens. Just a point about CBDCs, I think they will fail as the vaxxes did. There will always 30% who say no. As for Pew Anon, he is spot on about Trump, albeit a bit too charitable about him. Anyone still shilling for the death shot deserves everything they get.
Fair enough. You succeeded! And you do provoke thought, which in this age of Groupthink, is a good thing. If you're still there, Tom, can I ask you about your latest thoughts on crypto? I know you were a big fan at one point.
I am a big fan of PoW style coins, a la bitcoin. It's clear that 'crypto' was nothing more than a big globalist putsch against all cryptocurrencies, esp. BTC, because they are a real threat.
IMO I still think, in the end, the Fed puts BTC on its balance sheet.
Yep. Everyone should be clear: “crypto” and BTC are two very different things. My own “education” in this regard came by way of Matthew Crowder’s “Trader University” on YouTube. Here are a few selections to help folks understand the difference between BTC and “crypto”:
Pew-Anon said what I believe the situation we face is, and much more eloquently than I ever could.
I Thank Trump for his efforts, for taking undeserved abuse, for making the effort to do right by his country. I voted for Trump in both primaries and both general elections, 4 times total. I think if Trump would have run in 2012 he would have won, the dream of a Trump-Cain ticket, what might have been?
First let's kill the Davos demons, then we can deal with the freaks of financialization, fighting one battle at a time is the way to victory.
WOW - what a comment! Kudos to the monolithic Sundance for publishing it. Which CTH article was it appended to?
I would say that Wall Street is not a solution to anything, whether Davos, EU/WEF or otherwise. Main Street will never recover/rebuild until it's acknowledged that the trillions in US retirement/savings accounts are only really worth a fraction (in the real economy) of whatever the bank statements happen to say. But no one wants to admit that their savings won't deliver a fraction of what they've come to expect, so the system limps on. And the reason the dollar savings can't and won't deliver is because the dollar is overvalued by 5 decades of bigger and bigger trade and fiscal deficits, the consequence of being the primary reserve currency for global trade since WWII.
Wow.
You've blown me away today, Mark. And I thank you.
First I read the Luongo piece you linked to, and for me it was his most powerful yet. I came back to this page intending to comment on just how wonderful I thought it was.
Then I read your comments on that piece, which added more value still.
But you were only getting started.
This Pew-Anon comment is a tour de force, laying out most of my own case against the 2024 Trump candidacy, but with a skill and clarity I probably couldn't manage on my own, even with plentiful effort. (I especially appreciated the deft explication of the hard reality that, assuming one insists not just on trying to make this country great again but actually succeeding, a serially demonstrated and deep-seated lack of the most crucial kinds of competence is a deal killer no matter how proper the intentions.) I'd even go so far as to say that, while the elegant prose of the great Michael Anton is in a class by itself, this comment otherwise reads to me as a poor man's version of something Anton himself might produce were he to pen a 2024 version of the Flight '93 Election article.
Pew-Anon's words speak for themselves, so I'll just say that I'm going to save them all and use them as a core part of my argument whenever I need to explain my thoughts on the whole Trump-DeSantis thing to anyone I care to engage with on the matter.
Thanks again for all the work you do to bring us these gems!
Pew-Anon nailed it. He perfectly captured my serious doubts about Trump's ability to learn and course correct. It is pitch-perfect in its tone of appreciation for what Trump attempted to do, while also being brutally honest about the evidence that Trump can no longer be trusted as the right vehicle on which to place our thin, remaining hopes for saving the country. The critical insight in Pew's comment is just this: everyone--rich and powerful and poor and powerless--on this side of The Atlantic (the ocean as well as the globalist periodical) are now on the menu. Old Europe / Davos wants to subjugate us all. Our choice is to either join forces with our erstwhile nemeses (the big banks), or to fight them all with virtually no powerful weapons.
I need to ponder this all in the context of DeSantis's weakness as a putative GOP candidate based on post-November polling. It would not be wise to ignore Trump's unique popularity among voters who have remained suspicious of more traditional Republicans. Even if Trump could be persuaded to bow out, would his endorsement of DeSantis work? It is necessary, but would it be sufficient?
That's the question in my mind.
The only reason Dimon is pushing against Trump is that he and all of Wall Street is sitting atop a multi trillion bubble they are counting on DeSantis to bail them out like Bush did. Also what everyone forgets to mention who got Powell in the position he is in Trump. If Trump is so dumb why are they so terrified of him
Shadowstats has an interesting take on the economy. Basically the oil release from the strategic reserves kept down the price off gas, reduced imports, and inflated the gdp.
http://www.shadowstats.com/
Plus the employment numbers were overstated by a million.
So the numbers that the fed is using are manipulated.
Big Business has been captured by the elites, and are focused on staying in power and their own short term gain. The elites are going to universities that brain wash them into extreme work behavior. Big business is anti small business, and colluded with government to gain advantages.
I’m not understanding the difference between Wall Street and commercial bankers. Now says there seems to be a lot of overlap. Goldman Sachs is now a bank for example, and I would classify them as Wall Street. J.P. Morgan is a commercial banker, but has a large investment banking area.
For this discussion I'm sure that Wall Street and commercial banks are synonymous.
Well, one my predictions that I plan to make on New Year's Eve prediction blog posts is this- Biden fires Powell sometime in 2023 and appoints either Brainerd or Yellen as Fed chairman.
Precisely why I'm adding rungs to our bond ladder with longer term notes when rates bump up again.
either that, or Died Suddenly will start to spread
At this point, I am not confident that anyone who is not aligned with "six-days-from-Sunday" can accomplish anything. Which is depressing.
I am pretty convinced that Luongo is right. But, however much we might be encouraged to have Powell, et al., fighting the globalists (the enemy of my enemy…), insofar as Powell is able to follow through on his “hawkish” plan to raise interest rates and hold them there, this is going to cause a helluva lot of pain for us peasants. We’re talking a Great Depression level tanking of the economy.
I was hoping Trump would take us through bankruptcy, in style, but alas.
Yes, that is correct. But this is the unwinding of the greatest bubble in history. Be prepared, get your debt down, your cash flow up, your freezers stocked and your personal relationships strong.
We can get through this.
If the worst case happens, perhaps our adult children may end up living in our "guest bedrooms" again. Upside: getting to spend more time with our grandchildren--and teaching them firearm proficiency and safety.
I just rewatched a fantastic discussion with Richard Werner from about a year ago about money creation, QE, and CBDCs. It is over an hour long, but well-worth a full listen for offering what I think is a clear, though somewhat technical, explanation of precisely why Powell and the banking interests are at war with Davos and the globalists. Though Werner’s explanation of how money is created is important context for understanding the threat that CBDCs pose to the banks, you can skip ahead to about the 40 min mark to hear about the latter.
https://youtu.be/hN8Q-cye-qg
P.s., some of you may remember another convo from around the same time between Werner and Danielle DiMartino-Booth. I think the one I link to above is even more revealing.
What can I say?
Groaning board worth of food for thought. It’s all so plausible. I just hope that if this reasoning is correct (and even if it is not), we (Main Street) fight as fiercely against the Wall Street machinations as Wall Street fights against Davis to win a prosperous and good future for ourselves.
Of course, autocorrect was on the job here. DAVOS.
Interesting post. I'm not a smart man but try to keep up with the gyrations. Maybe Powell is heading for a spot that put my father's first mortgage interest rate at 19% (1972 I think). We certainly are in for a tough ride if that's we're where headed. I would try to tighten my seatbelt a little more but I have no circulation now.
That would have been 1982.
Mark,
I read that comment on CTH when it appeared. It went like wildfire through my private chat server. No one owned up to writing it, FYI. So, this is a comment from someone outside of my community who has been convinced of what I've been saying.
It's hitting its stride in the zeitgeist.
Thanks for the spotlight as always. I appreciate it. It still feels weird having someone reference this guy "Luongo" directly... like it's not even me. I'm having a Phil Dick like twinge of dissociation while even writing this.
All the best and Merry Christmas to you and your community!
I would like to understand how the current rush on the part of the GOP to accommodate Democrat legislative and budget priorities before the new congress is seated aligns with your theory of shifting manila folders.
I intend no snark; I listen to every one of your interviews now and believe your uber theory is the best overall description of the current field of play; it's the details that I'm less sure of.
The GOP is part of the problem; the Fed and allied East Coast banks are part of the solution. If Mr L is correct, of course!
I understand that; but Luongo has been saying recently that various Senators and Congressmen are "getting new manila folders" - ie, they're being told 'you work for me now' and are receiving new instructions.
I suppose the most likely answer is the GOP hasn't yet decided who's parade to join.
Agreed that I have been saying that about the 'manilla folders'... so isn't it interesting that there is this rush to try and push through whatever they can as quickly as they can before the situation becomes untenable?
I'm not a prophet or anything... just trying to read the tea leaves like everyone else. I hope the manila folder stacks are big enough to change the course of things, but they may not be. The proof of that is in the outcomes.
Thanks, and dittoes!
I think Luongo, much as he irritates me, has a point here. The only thing that will stop Davos is an equally powerful group that feels its very existence is threatened by the globalists and greens. Just a point about CBDCs, I think they will fail as the vaxxes did. There will always 30% who say no. As for Pew Anon, he is spot on about Trump, albeit a bit too charitable about him. Anyone still shilling for the death shot deserves everything they get.
FYI, it's my intention to irritate you.
That makes the work memorable and, like it or not, thought-provoking.
Fair enough. You succeeded! And you do provoke thought, which in this age of Groupthink, is a good thing. If you're still there, Tom, can I ask you about your latest thoughts on crypto? I know you were a big fan at one point.
I am a big fan of PoW style coins, a la bitcoin. It's clear that 'crypto' was nothing more than a big globalist putsch against all cryptocurrencies, esp. BTC, because they are a real threat.
IMO I still think, in the end, the Fed puts BTC on its balance sheet.
Yep. Everyone should be clear: “crypto” and BTC are two very different things. My own “education” in this regard came by way of Matthew Crowder’s “Trader University” on YouTube. Here are a few selections to help folks understand the difference between BTC and “crypto”:
“Crypto’s dirty little secret”. https://youtu.be/PLCWFdGMiN8
“Proof of stake vs proof of work” https://youtu.be/wc-X3XHtmhE
“BTC: The best form of private property ever”. https://youtu.be/1wvDm-vzqKo
Right there with you, Boss!
Here's the plan:
Find Davos' nest then smash all its eggs before anymore hatch.
Coligny, Switzerland. It's near the EUFA HQ, so you can do a twofer, metaphorically speaking, of course!
Rikki Tikki Tavi would like that plan.
Pew-Anon said what I believe the situation we face is, and much more eloquently than I ever could.
I Thank Trump for his efforts, for taking undeserved abuse, for making the effort to do right by his country. I voted for Trump in both primaries and both general elections, 4 times total. I think if Trump would have run in 2012 he would have won, the dream of a Trump-Cain ticket, what might have been?
First let's kill the Davos demons, then we can deal with the freaks of financialization, fighting one battle at a time is the way to victory.